Monday, 8 March 2010

''How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes''

Maya Angelou, African American Poet

Largely due to my commitment to a number of other blogs, regular readers of Musical, Ethical or Mineral may have noticed some distinct gaps in my regular posting – which I can only apologise for. I soon hope to migrate this blog to Wordpress and host guess bloggers and some more interactive features. Since today is International Women’s Day 2010 however, I decided I would make a concerted effort to make sure I posted something and signpost some other interesting resources I have come across that are discussing this hugely important international celebration.

International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, IWD is a national holiday. The first IWD was run in 1911. Next year is IWD Global Centenary 1911-2011. You can read more on the history of IWD on the Official Website.

I have recently had the distinct pleasure of working on a number of blogs for The Young European Federalists (JEF), one of which entitled thenewfederalist provides news, comments & analysis of the EU, Community policies, federalism, constitutional issues and political debates on Europe. In addition to it's core content and values, the blog often publishes a number of insightful articels on Global Issues and today features a facinating article on the role of Women in conflict resolution - a topic that is very close to my heart.

At the end of this month JEF will also deliver an international seminar in Bratislava on Gender Equality and as a way of preparing the participants for the event I have assisted it putting together this blog. Although the primary purpose of the blog is to get participants thinking about what Gender means to them - there are also some facinating and thought provoking videos hosted on the site which are worth a watch. I stongly recommend anyone with an interest in Gender equality take this opportunity on International Women's day to view some of the highly relevant vidoes or read some of the Council of Europe documents on the site related to Women's rights and get involved in the debate on the site's 'Comment Corner'.

I feel a little under-prepared for this year's IWD, but I hope you all enjoy the day whatever you have planned to mark the occasion. Until next time.

Saturday, 2 January 2010

As some of you may be aware one of the biggest conferences on HIV/AIDS will be taking place in Vienna during July, bringing together over 25,000 delegates from across the globe, as always young people will be at the centre of this international conference and we at Global Forum 40 recognise the importance of this event. That is why we are offering you a unique opportunity, to become a part of a delegation to attend this conference, we will be sending a team of no more than 10 young people from across the Globe to really put our generation on the map and actually influence global change in creating new policy on AIDS.

We will be working closely with our organisational partners to offer those selected direct support in the lead up to AIDS 2010, chosen participants will have registration costs paid for – as well as a small financial supplement towards travel costs, please note those selected will also be required to fundraise a specified amount to cover accommodation and living costs during the event and to cover the rest of your travel expenses. We will have a dedicated team member here at GF40, who will provide those selected participants with the skills needed to successfully fundraise and attract sponsorships, they will be on hand for as and when they are required.

So what do you need to do to apply? Well we want you to answer the following and answer them using no more than 200 words per question unless stated.

Tell us briefly about yourself and your current work including your Date of Birth (350 words max)

Why do you want to attend AIDS 2010?

What can you offer the Global Forum 40 delegation in terms of knowledge in the field of HIV/AIDS?

What do you wish to achieve from participating in the conference?

How will you influence change in your community if you were given funding to set up a community project? (400 words max)

Please answer questions in either a email or a windows word document and clearly mark the email‘AIDS 2010 Application‘. The deadline for this application is the 3rd January 2010 at 5pm GMT, please send all enquiries and questions to: events@globalforum40.com, where they will be received and processed by our team. Chosen candidates will be notified by the 8th January 2010, please note you must be 18 years old at the time and date of event and no older than 25, we will not accept applications for those either side of this age range.